


Absolutely My First Rodeo

by EmeraldLight



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 11:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20600291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldLight/pseuds/EmeraldLight
Summary: “Potter! POTTER!” Draco was almost shrieking, clinging to the saddle horn with both hands. “This thing is moving!”All Harry had wanted was to show his best friend a hobby from his past. He should have known that Draco was going to be highly dramatic about... everything.





	Absolutely My First Rodeo

Harry couldn’t remember the last time he was this excited to be participating in a Muggle activity, but this was something he had wanted to do for years. Granted, it had been a long time since he had partaken in this particular activity, but you know what they say - it’s like riding a bike.

Draco, on the other hand, was far less excited. The blonde crossed his arms over his chest as he observed the large animals in front of them. The other male seemed to be making friends with them while Draco was keeping his distance.

“Come over here and say hi, Draco,” Harry grinned, reaching out towards the blonde with one hand while his other hand stroked the nose of the grey horse in front of him.

“I’m not about to touch something that I don’t know what it is,” Draco huffed, eyeing the horse suspiciously. “It looks like a hornless unicorn.”

“It’s a horse,” Harry said with a somewhat surprised look. “You don’t know what a horse is?”

“Of course not!” Draco looked almost indignant. “Why would I ever have to learn about this… beast?” Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, opting instead to blow out a long breath as he moved away from the fence that separated the two of them from the horses.

“Your friend here is a city boy, eh?” Harry paused on his approach to greet the older woman who was approaching the two of them, smiling brightly. He had been in contact with her for several weeks while planning this little outing.

“You can say that again,” he admitted, chuckling. “I’m Harry and this is my friend Draco. He’s never seen a horse, let alone ridden one, like I warned you.” The woman smiled warmly, shaking hands with the two near-adults and introducing herself as Tabitha, owner of the ranch they were at.

“Won’t be a problem,” she assured the two of them. “I picked out the two horses I felt best suited the two of you.” With a wave of her hand she had the two follow her towards the barn where she had already prepared their mounts.

“You said you know how to ride, correct?”

“I took lessons as a child, yeah. It’s been a few years, but I was riding horses before I could walk,” Harry nodded. He was introduced to a tall black horse with a white stripe on its nose and immediately began making friends. Tabitha was moving much slower when it came to Draco, introducing him to a stocky white horse that was dappled with brown spots.

“This is Beacon, he’ll take good care of you today,” she smiled kindly. “He’s an older guy so he doesn’t have much ‘get-up-and-go’ left in him, so he’s perfect for a beginner like you.” Draco wanted to comment about the ‘beginner’ comment and argue that if he could ride a broom hundreds of feet in the air, he could ride a horse, but he bit his tongue. This woman was a Muggle, after all, and he knew that Harry had worked hard to get them this little adventure. And paid a decent amount of money for it.

Harry’s horse was called Moonlight and was delighted to have Harry scratching his ears and down his long neck. He didn’t realize how much he had missed being around the gentle giants until now and silently vowed to get a lot more horseback riding in, in the future.

“Because you’re new, I opted for the Western saddle,” Tabitha was explaining, reaching to touch the saddle horn. “It’s perfect for hanging on and offers a deeper seat with more support, making new riders more comfortable.”

“I rode bareback for most of my childhood,” Harry grinned.

“Then I’m sure you have a natural seat,” was the response, Tabitha smiling at him. Her own horse was tacked up and waiting just outside the barn, a burly white horse by the name of Misty. She showed Draco how to lead his horse and even Harry winced when the blonde nearly jumped out of his skin when Beacon obediently followed the blonde.

“He’s not going to hurt you, Draco,” the brunette sighed, having no problem leading Moonlight forward.

“He’s bloody huge, Potter,” Draco snapped at him, narrowing his eyes at his friend as he followed Tabitha’s instructions to the best of his ability.

“I assume you’re good to mount up on your own?” she asked, peering at Harry. When the brunette nodded and swung up easily into the saddle, the turned her attention to Draco.

“Left foot in the stirrup, right leg swings up and over, and then you settle GENTLY into the saddle,” she told him, moving to stand somewhat close, just in case the blonde fell over. “You don’t have to do it quickly, not like your friend did, just do it correctly.”

“At least your legs are longer,” Harry supplied. “You won’t have to contort yourself like I did to get my foot into the stirrup.”

“Helps that Beacon is shorter than Moonlight, too,” Tabitha smiled. When Draco failed to lift himself onto his horse, the woman sighed a little.

“Alright, I’m going to touch your butt,” she warned him. “Just giving you a warning as I give you some help up. This is in no way a perverted action.” Placing her hands on Draco’s hips, and somewhat his backside, the older woman gave him a boost that helped him finally pull himself all the way up. Who knew that Draco had very limited leg strength.

Immediately the blonde clung to the saddle horn, his eyes wide as he found himself straddling something much larger than a broom. Curbing any comments she might have regarding the blonde and his ‘city boy’ status, Tabitha moved around the horse to help Draco properly settle his feet into the stirrups and taught him how to hold the reins.

“For the most part, Beacon is just going to follow us,” she told him, moving to mount her own horse with years of practiced ease. “We aren’t going to be doing anything more than walking, so you don’t have to worry about really doing much. He’s a good old boy and he’s done this hundreds of times before.”

“He’s a little high strung, eh?” Tabitha leaned over to whisper to Harry, making the brunette chuckle and nod.

“He’s getting better, really,” Harry snickered, settling easily into his own saddle and quickly becoming quite relaxed. “You should have seen him when we were kids. It took me a long time to release him from the stereotypical rich kid mentality, but it was worth it.”

“I’m going to lead and I want Harry to bring up the rear, just because Draco is a new rider. Let’s head out now,” Tabitha smilled, waving her hand a little as she nudged her heels against Misty’s sides and urged her horse forward. Just like she had predicted, Beacon instantly began to move forward as well, immediately instigating drama.

“Potter! POTTER!” Draco was almost shrieking, clinging to the saddle horn with both hands. “This thing is moving!”

“It’s a horse, Draco,” Harry sighed. “His name is Beacon, and he’s following Tabitha, just like she said he would.” Harry relaxed his reins and allowed Moonlight to follow as well, though he nudged the horse to move forward just a bit faster so he was riding beside Draco instead of behind him.

“It’s running away with me!” Draco’s fingers were clutching the saddle horn so tightly that his knuckled were turning white. “I’m going to die!”

“He’s walking,” Harry tried again, looking highly unamused.

“Make it stop! It’s going to kill me!”

Leaning over in his saddle, Harry reached out and swatted Draco in the shoulder, causing the blonde to flinch and stare at him with wide eyes. Harry’s stern expression was very easy to read, and Tabitha found herself watching the two of them as she twisted in her saddle. No need to intervene, Harry seemed to have it covered.

“You have gone much faster than this,” Harry hissed. “You are a skilled athlete and you should conduct yourself as such. Beacon doesn’t need you shrieking in his ear because you’re afraid of riding him.” Draco tried to protest but he was quickly silenced by a dark look.

“You said you wanted to try something new. This is something new. And you are going to calm yourself, speak in a proper voice, and we are going to complete this trail ride without any additional problems. Got it?”

“Y-yes,” Draco said weakly, eyeing the horse under him before bringing his gaze back to his best friend. “Sorry…”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Harry sighed, righting himself in his saddle. “Just stop freaking out.”

Harry slowed Moonlight and allowed himself to drop back, riding single file as Tabitha lead them out of the stable yard and into the large field that surrounded the property.

“We’ll head through the field and into the forest,” she told them, not even needing to dismount in order to open (and close) the gate. Impressive. The older woman wondered just how eventful this ride would be.


End file.
